Orangutan See, Orangutan Do?

– Will an adorable baby orangutan learn how to get a treat just by watching how his mother does it?

A primatologist demonstrates the experiment and talks about the results, explaining the role of copycat behaviour in orangutans and other species, including humans. It’s hard to believe, but we might not be the smartest animals when it comes to social influence and learning.

Part of the National Science Foundation’s slick and informative Science Nation video series, a (not quite verbatim) transcript is also available.

About Sandra Kiume

Sandra Kiume is a mental health advocate from Vancouver, Canada, and the founder of @unsuicide. Along with maintaining Channel N, she contributes to World of Psychology.